DoD News

News Article

Bomb Kills 2 Soldiers; Coalition Operations Continue

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2004  Two Task Force All American soldiers were killed and one was wounded in a roadside bomb explosion near Khaldiyah, Iraq, Feb. 19.

Two Iraqis a translator and a policeman -- also died in the attack.

The unit was on patrol northwest of the city when it was attacked with an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release. The release said the wounded soldier was taken to a military hospital, where he was in serious condition. The soldiers' names are being withheld until their families are notified.

Soldiers raided three locations and captured six people, four of them suspected of anti-coalition activity. The dawn mission targeted suspects in mortar attacks on coalition forces near Balad Feb. 18. The soldiers confiscated an automatic weapon and two AK-47 assault rifles.

One attacker was killed after he fired an automatic weapon at soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, Feb. 18 near Balad. Soldiers recovered an AK-47 near his body. They were in the area searching for people believed to be responsible for attacks against coalition forces, and captured two suspects.

An Iraqi child was killed in Tikrit when a rocket-propelled grenade, aimed at soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, missed them and exploded near the child Feb. 18. The child died instantly, and soldiers were unable to capture the attackers.

Members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, raided a building in Bayji just after midnight Feb. 19 in an attempt to capture former regime loyalists. Nine people were captured, including two who were specifically targeted in the operation for suspected anti-coalition activity. Soldiers confiscated four AK-47s, two rifles and a pistol. They went to another location and captured two more people carrying a bag of AK-47 parts, knives and axes.